Universities and the Future of Ontario: A Foundation on Which to Build. Response of the Council on Ontario Universities to the Preliminary Report of the Committee on the Future Role of Universities in Ontario.

Council of Ontario Universities, Toronto.

A brief concerning the "Preliminary Report of the Committee on the Future Role of Universities in Ontario" is presented. The following objectives of Ontario universities are endorsed: developing a more educated populace, education and training for the professions, providing for study at the highest intellectual level and for development and evaluation of basic and applied research, and providing service to the community. In addition, the following topics are considered: accessibility, academic standards, and the inseparability of teaching and research/scholarship. It is stressed that these objectives cannot be dissociated from funding. Models postulated in the Report are examined against the background of the past decade. It is suggested that only Model 1a, which allows for modest real growth, would make it possible to enhance the ability of the University system to meet its recognized objectives, but even this model would do little to repair the damage of the past years' financial constraints as expressed partly by the deterioration and obsolescence of scientific equipment and weakened library holdings. It is suggested that the role of any system structure would be to promote advice to the government on the needs of the universities in the context of provincially-defined obejctives, and to monitor the actions of universities in relating their plans to provincial objectives. The need for cooperation among colleges and at the provincial level is noted, and it is suggested that the Council of Ontario Universities continue its role as a consultative advisory body. (SW)